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The Kite Runner Chapter Guide Questions (8 – 10) & Vocabulary

1. Why do you think Amir no longer wanted to play with Hassan?

Amir is too guilty of what he has done. He’s considering himself living with this lie and he has no one to share it with. Towards Hassan, whenever he’s around, Amir always feels confused. “Because when he was around, the oxygen seeped out of the room. My chest tightened and I couldn’t draw enough air, I’d stand there, gasping in my own little airless bubble o atmosphere.

2. Which character’s character seems to be more emotionally mature?

Though Amir is older than Hassan but in fact, Hassan acts more maturely than Amir. While Amir is suffering from the lie he’s made towards everybody, however Hassan acts like nothing has every happened though he is the one who unfortunately gets raped.

3. Why did Amir throw pomegranates at Hassan?

Amir throws pomegranates at Hassan so that Hassan must fight him back. Amir takes this way as a way of him getting the worth punishment for what he’s done. “Hit me back, goddamn you!” I wish he would. I wished he’d give he punishment I craved, so maybe I’d finally sleep at night”

4. What is the significance behind Assef’s birthday present for Amir?

At Amir’s birthday party, Assef comes and brings him a biography book of Hitler. Assef gives Amir the book because he wants Amir to understand and support him. He also mentions about the resemblance between him and Hitler’s idea of ideal human beings (blond and blue eyes).

5. What story did Rahim Khan tell Amir on his birthday? Why?

Rahim Khan tells Amir about his story with a girl named Homaira. The story is about their forbidden love. They almost married each other; however they were separated by Rahim’s family.

6. What gift did he give him?

Rahim Khan gave Amir a present which is a A leather notebook with golden covers. “It was a brown leather-bound notebook. I traced my fingers along the gold-colored stitching on the borders. I smelled the leather.”

7. Why didn’t anyone tell the truth?

When Baba asked Hassan whether he’d stolen the watch or not, Hassan lied to Baba and said that he did. Ali also supported his son. Though they were making lies but they wouldn’t want to put all the blame on Amir. If they were not the thieves, then Amir would be the one. Amir also didn’t want to tell the truth because he didn’t want Baba to think of him as a liar, cheater and a thief. “If he’d said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied. And if Baba believed him, then I’d be the accused. I’d have to explain and I would be revealed for what I really was. Baba would never, ever forgive me”

8. What did Amir hide under Hassan’s bed? Why?

Amir hid couple of coins and the new watch Baba has brought for him as a birthday present under Hassan’s bed. He wanted to create a crime scene because when Baba found out about this, he would gather Hassan to his office and solve the problems. However, things turned out differently when Hassan said that he was the thief. Amir immediately felt shamed and coward because he has betrayed the loyalty of Hassan and Ali. “I flinched, like I’d been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth. Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me.”

9. What did Hassan lie?

Hassan lied even though he did not steal the watch because he wanted to protect Amir. He knew it was Amir who set him up but if Hassan had told Baba the truth, Amir would have been heavily punished.

10. Why did Hassan and Ali leave?

Hassan and Ali left because they could not live in the house anymore. Ali noticed the unusual relationship between Hassan and Amir since they rarely spoke to each other. Moreover, Ali wanted to protect Hassan from being “the bull eye” because he was always bullied by the kids in the neighborhood.

““Life here is impossible for us now, Agha sahib. We’re leaving.” Ali drew Hassan to him, curled his arm around his son’s shoulder. It was a protective gesture and I knew whom Ali was protecting him from…”

11. Where did Amir and Baba flee to?

They intended leaving Kabul for Peshawar but ended up in California, USA.

“…was driving us across the Khyber Pass and into Peshawar.” “Fremont, California 1980s”

12. Why could people no longer be trusted in Afghanistan?

Since there was a war within Afghanistan, people were trying their best to survive and they were willing to do anything including even killing each other.

“”How long have they been waiting?” Baba said, standing over Karim. “Two weeks” “I thought you said the truck broke down last week.” Karim rubbed his throat. “It might have been the week before,” He croaked…”

VOCABULARY:

Swivel (v.) : turn around a point or an axis.

His chair is swivelling around and around.

Shrieking (v.) : absolute high pitch piercing sound or word

The audience is shrieking of laughter.

Corduroy (n.): a thick cotton fabric with velvety ribs

The pants were made of corduroy

Abbreviate (v.) : shorten, condensed version of a piece of text.

This book is the abbreviated version of his early works.

Sluggish (adj.): slow moving or inactive.

He feels really sluggish and exhausting since he stayed up really late last night.

Anonymity (n.): unknown by name or unidentified.

The letter was sent to her which was a love letter but it was anonymous.

Asphalt (n.): a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel, used for surfacing roads, flooring, roofing, etc.

Replacing the former asphalt surface into a new one has renewed the streets.

Mosques (n.): Muslim place of worship

There are lots of mosques locating around Kabul.

Ventilate (v.): cause air to enter and circulate freely in a room

The chimney is used to ventilate the exhaust gas.

Shroud (n.): a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial